A. Abyad, MD, MPH, MBA, AGSF, AFCHSE (Editor) A. Abyad, MD, MPH, MBA, AGSF, AFCHSE (Editor) Abyad Medical Center & Middle East Longevity Institute Azmi Street, Abdo Center, 2nd Floor PO BOX 618, Tripoli LEBANON Tel & Fax: 961 6 443684/5/6 Email: aabyad@cyberia.net.lb Web: www.amc-lb.com

This is the first issue this year and we are looking for further growth of the journal which has stimulated research in the area of nursing and scholarly work in this area.

Our Middle East readership and academic survey (see "Middle East Reader and Academic Survey 2011-2012") has shown the ME-JN to be the second highest read journal in the region (after the MEJFM), indicating a great need for nursing related articles.

In this issue a paper from Saudi Arabia looked at the use of insulin devices. The authors stressed that insulin therapy is one of the treatment lines for management of diabetes mellitus. Insulin therapy can be used at different conditions during the life of a diabetic patient although it is the main treatment for patients with type 1 diabetes. Insulin devices are always the issue discussed by the patients as well as the insulin regimens. In their review they discussed the two issues in simple way so junior medical staff dealing with diabetic patients can understand the issues well.

A paper from Kuwait assessed students' knowledge of microbiology with a view to improving the course content for nursing programs. The authors stressed that microbiology curriculum in pre-registration nursing programs varies in different countries and institutions. They used an anonymous questionnaire which was administered to 330 nursing students and 14 faculty members. Students in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program generally had higher mean scores than those in the Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN). The authors concluded that areas of pathogenicity and epidemiology require more emphasis in the nursing microbiology curriculum.

Another paper from Saudi Arabia used a qualitative study design and semi structured interviews, explored the nurses' experiences of providing palliative care for critically ill patients in an intensive care unit in Saudi Arabia.

The authors stressed that in Saudi Arabia the majority of deaths occur in the hospitals. However, there are a few palliative care programs available to meet patients and families' needs. Six themes were identified and all themes reflect different nurses' experiences when they provide palliative care for critically ill patients in the ICU. The authors concluded that communication was a barrier when non-Arabic speaking nurses provide palliative care for critically ill patients and their families. The authors recommended hospital management to increase the number of Arabic- speaking nurses and to provide more translators in day shifts.

A paper from Bangladesh looked at Determinants of Fertility Behaviour among Adolescent Reproductive Women in Bangladesh. The challenges and risks the young people face during this period impact directly on their physical and emotional mental wellbeing. The authors used multivariate analysis such as multiple classification analysis which has been used to identify the important determinants of children ever born. The study result shows that various socio-economic and demographic variables affect on adolescent's fertility. These are adolescent's education, place of residence, religion, working status, breast feeding etc. An inverse relation is found between age at marriage, and fertility. Result shows that fertility is highest in rural areas than that of urban areas.

A descriptive paper from Mohaiel hospital looked at Pregnant Women's Awareness regarding Viral Hepatitis B and C . The author found that out of 126 women only 34.9% had satisfactory knowledge about HBV and HCV. Misconceptions regarding HCV and HBV were very common among the study sample that 59.5% , 57.9%, 45.2% respectively consider family genetics, general toilets in markets and foods, as risk factors for infection.

The study findings reflect that there is unsatisfactory knowledge regarding HBV and HCV among women in the reproductive years. More efforts must be focused on correcting women's misconceptions and educating them in healthy behaviors through educational programs.

A paper from Jordan looked at subjectivity in quantitative nursing research. The authors stressed that the credibility of research is important for its consumption. Debates still exist between supporters of different paradigms as they disagree on what makes research credible, what makes it valid and to what extent, and which methodology is more appropriate. This paper presents a comparative view of credibility between quantitative and qualitative paradigms by exploring the issues of subjectivity and objectivity in its methodologies.